The unification of the brokerage on the right path, » said Christopher Johnson, president of the RCCAQ

Christopher Johnson takes in hand the direction of a network-in-full discount in question and under the threat of various bills. He said he was however confident for the unification of the brokerage facing the challenges to come.

It is the result of a consultation process which has torn the brokerage that Mr. Johnson begins his tenure as chairman of the board of directors of the Regroupement des cabinets de courtage d’assurance du Québec (RCCAQ). This consultation on the limit of shareholding that an insurer may hold in a brokerage firm has opened a Pandora’s box on the definition of broker.

This has prompted the Quebec government to address this issue in the bill 150. This omnibus budget, which, if adopted in its current form, will require those who want to present themselves as a broker to offer four quotes from different insurers to their customers.

How M. Johnson sees the future of the brokerage ? He describes himself first and foremost as an eternal optimist, who always chooses to see the glass half full, he said in an interview in the Journal of insurance, during a meeting, which was held in the offices of the RCCAQ in Longueuil.

«Being a broker is a nice profession. We are lucky to be able to mix with several types of entrepreneurs. The world of business is an extreme sport. Changes, there always will be. It is important not to panic and seize all opportunities. We have challenges like any industry. One must be creative and agile. People all need to get insurance at one time or another in their lives. It should take advantage of them «, he says.

Gather and unify

As to the future of the RCCAQ, Mr. Johnson is said to also be positive in the face of it. He launches a call for unification, stating, however, that it is on the right track. He invited the members of the group to renew their membership, but also to those who are not party to join its ranks. The RCCAQ represents firms employing a total of 4 200 brokers. Typhaine Letertre, its director of communications, estimated that the rate of representation of the brokerage quebec oscillates between 60 % and 70 %.

Mr. Johnson also reminds us that the RCCAQ is posed as a unifier. «It defends the interests of all brokers, regardless of their business model. As an entrepreneur, you must choose a business model. Everyone thinks that their recipe is the best. It passes all well. It is necessary to unify the network to conduct these battles. «

For him, the unification of the broker is started, and this, in spite of that, in recent months, various pressure groups have emerged, including theAlliance for a stronger brokerage fort, the Consolidation of the responsibility for the future of the brokerage, as well as a working group led by Jean-Philippe Martineau.

For proof of this unification, he stressed that the annual general meeting held in November last year went well, despite the tensions and challenges that float around the brokerage. «The RCCAQ, we have the power to act quickly. We come back and we get together. Communication is very important. It is by talking that we understand each other, » he says.